Dear friends,

When a stone is thrown into a body of water, ripples are formed and they expand further and further until they are no longer visible. We have experienced this ripple effect with our mission in Haiti. In 1993 we had one mission; by 1996 there were four. It became difficult to visit all of them during one tour as some were five hours walk apart.

It was time to build a base. So, in 1996 we constructed a three room building to be used for all types of education and also for our own shelter and safety.

It wasn't long before several villages in the surrounding area came and joined us. The ripples continued to expand.

From 1997 to 1999 we built a large meeting room which doubled as a common room for visiting villagers. In September 1999 we started a primary school with qualified teachers who taught 89 students aged 3 to 14. At this time Monique Louissaint, the wife of our evangelist Etienne, became the mission administrator.

The mission exploded! By the end of the year we had 150 students. Each year after, our numbers multiplied; in 2006 we reached 553 students. It became too much. We couldn't handle that many for lack of room and money.

Not only was the school growing, the church has grown from 15 to 105 as of March 2007. Monique has organized a monthly day of study for the ladies in 10 different villages, teaching them a better way to live spiritually and physically. Etienne, our evangelist, also conducts a monthly study meeting for all surrounding villages.

Throughout the years the ripples continued further and further. In 2003-2004 we built 20 homes for the very poor. More and more villages kept coming for special weekends. Sometimes up to 20 members would walk as long as 12 hours to attend.

In 2002, we built an oven to bake bread for the school kids and we also started distributing rice to starving families. These two projects cost $10,000 per year. We usually serve 30 families twice per month. One day 97 families came!

We need to do a lot more for the poor and the very poor. We have a few ideas... if only we had the resources committed. When we start a project we need to be able to sustain it for a long time. We also need to be able to respond to people's needs as they become apparent.

My friends, these school children need hope. With education and some care from us to give them a start, many can escape poverty. However, without money nothing can be done. Prayer is necessary and powerful, but prayer alone cannot feed everyone. The most effective combination is prayer accompanied by money.

I can’t forget to tell you that over the last two years we have inherited four orphaned girls. Two are 15 years old, the other two are eight and nine. Three of them are sisters (long story).

Our sincere thanks to all those who are helping with our mission. Your support is greatly appreciated. We are anxious to welcome new supporters!

Please note the change of email address – ray@partnersforhaiti.org

In Christ,

Ray Fillion